Monday, July 22, 2013
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I used to be at Moody Bible Institute several times a year to do some radio programs, and I was usually there on a weekend. Now, Moody is right in the heart of Chicago. If you are in the heart of any big city, you've got to think security, especially on the weekend when a lot of things are closed and there's no one working. You don't want people just wandering around your buildings then.
The studios at Moody Bible Institute are located on the 8th and the 10th floor in a building which houses most of the administrative offices. Like I said, there's not many people there on the weekend, so they need to make sure that they shut off the floors they don't want just anyone to have access to. They keep the library open for the students and some things like that, but most of the floors are shut down as far as the elevator is concerned.
I can't get to the 8th floor or the 10th floor where I need to get to do radio programs unless the security man specifically turns on the elevator to stop at those floors. Well, guess where he is? He's downstairs in the lobby. If I'm in the 8th floor studios and I need to go to the 10th floor, can I just get on the elevator on 8 and push the button to 10? Nope! It wouldn't be that easy. No, no, no. I have to go down to the lobby, get the man to open up 10, and then I ride back up to the top floor. I got a lot of elevator rides on weekends there. You may be getting a few right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Way Up, Is Down."
Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 6. It happens to be in a passage about young men who are moving into, or want to move into spiritual leadership. It says, "Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time." Okay, Hutchcraft translation: "The way up is down" like my friendly weekend elevator.
You may be an ambitious person, and there's nothing wrong with that. You've got goals, you've got dreams, and you've got a desire to get ahead. I hope you've got a desire to make a mark for Jesus. You've probably pushed the "up" button on your life's elevator, but you know what? God takes us up through the most unusual route. He insists you go down first. Maybe that's what's going on in your life right now. He says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand." You've got to do that first.
Right now God might just be saying to you, "Will you quit pushing for yourself? Would you quit trying to get out in front? Don't promote yourself. Don't defend yourself. Don't position yourself. I do the promoting." God's asking you to release all that self-pushing, and self-promoting and leave it at His feet; to surrender your ego; to surrender those ambitions, surrender those goals. As long as you really want that spot, you really want to get out in front, you really need to be as it says here "lifted up", you can't be trusted with it. You'll make an idol out of it if God gives it to you. It will ruin you.
Instead, it's time to say, "Lord, all I am is your humble servant. I lay aside all my rights as You did when You came here. I expect no preferred treatment. I expect no recognition. I yield my need to You, my need to be noticed, and to be successful, to get stroked, to get the credit. Anything goes, Lord, whether it's little or big. I'm here for Your purposes, not mine. I'm here for Your glory, not mine. Take me, I'm yours." The Bible says then is when He can lift you up.
Get your fingerprints off your future. Let God promote you "in due time" when He knows you're ready. If you want to go up, hit the down button and let God run your elevator.